The Fussy Breastfed Baby

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After a few weeks or months, breastfeeding has often settled into an easy rhythm. But what if you’re still dealing with a fussy breastfed baby or breastfeeding feels a struggle? Assuming any illness has been ruled out by your baby’s doctor, contacting an IBCLC lactation consultant can help brainstorm why your baby is fussing at any age or stage. There are many possible reasons—from your baby having a fussy personality or being easily distracted by the world around him, to being hungry and just needing more breast milk. Cows’ milk allergy, reflux or temporary lactose intolerance could also be involved in fussy behaviour as could sensory processing issues or high muscle tone. This article reviews nine common causes of fussy behaviour.

#1 Fussy personality

Sometimes what may seem like fussy or sensitive behaviour is normal baby behaviour. For example it is normal for a newborn baby to fuss when they are put down, they love to be held and feel safest next to an adult body. It’s normal for newborn babies to feed very frequently, they are doubling their weight in a matter of months! It’s normal for an older baby to go through a phase of hating to be strapped in a car seat. The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding has several useful chapters on ages and stages which explain the normal behaviour of a breastfed baby as he grows. For example in the chapter “Six Weeks to Four Months: Hitting Your Stride” we are reminded that babies are individuals and sometimes being fussy is a character trait:

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Maybe you’ve got a sparkler – an intense, sensitive baby who needs input, input, input! His only settings are high and off. That’s the downside. The upside is how truly bright and curious he is likely to become. You’ll work hard as a mother to this baby. Look for other mothers of sparklers, to share notes with. Keep your sense of humour and try not to compare your busy days with those of your placid-baby friends. And keep your little sparkler close to you – your presence and touch will often go a long way toward calming him.

Fussy baby at four months

If your baby has been breastfeeding well for several months but then becomes a fussy baby at four months (or five or six or older!) it can be puzzling to find a reason for the change. Around this age is a common time for babies to refuse some breastfeeds and become easily distracted, particularly during the day time. The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding calls this The Four-Month Fussies. Lisa Hassan-Scott explains it well in an article called “Too Busy to Breastfeed”.

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I began to wonder why Eilidh would feed well at night, but not during the day. I talked to other friends involved with La Leche League. What was it about the night time that was preferable to the day? Then, eureka! I realized that the conditions at night were so vastly different from the usual daytime hustle and bustle in our house. During the day, there was too much to see and do. Eilidh wanted to practice her “visual tracking”! She was interested in bracelets and wanted to pull her head out of the cloth of the sling to see where we were going. There was a fascinating three-year-old to watch. If breastfeeding could be delayed until the nighttime hours, why not make the most of all the opportunities for fun during the day? she reasoned.

It’s a stage that will soon pass but you may need to remind your busy baby to breastfeed in the day and it may help to cut down on distractions at feed times such as closing the curtains or putting subtitles on the television.

#2 Fussy breastfed baby, hungry baby?

A baby who fusses, constantly feeds or has trouble sleeping may not be getting enough breast milk especially if these behaviours are accompanied by poor weight gain or a baby who is not gaining weight. In Dr. Jack Newman’s Guide to Breastfeeding the authors believe that the most common cause of fussiness at the breast is when a baby is frustrated with slow milk flow resulting in hungry babies who fuss. They add that a tendency for mothers to feed by the clock instead of on demand can have the same result; a hungry baby. Their reasons for fussing are listed in the following excerpt:

#3 Bottle preference or nipple confusion

If a baby has started to have quite a few bottles as replacement feeds whether with expressed breast milk or formula, some babies can seem to start to fuss at the breast in preference for the bottle. This is sometimes called bottle preference or nipple confusion. One reason this can happen is if a baby associates breastfeeding with frustration and slow milk flow but finds the bottle more rewarding. Or if a baby has a lot of bottles before they have got the hang of breastfeeding. If your baby is having more and more bottles and is starting to fuss at the breast, options to try include:

#4 Allergies as a cause of fussy behaviour

Babies who are allergic to something from their mothers’ diet passing into breast milk will often appear to be fussy at the breast—pulling off once milk starts to flow because it hurts their inflamed oesophagus (eosinophilic oesophagitis) or gives them tummy ache. Author Maureen Minchin describes a characteristic set of allergy-related fussy behaviours including disturbed sleep, erratic and persistent crying:

#5 Reflux and fussing

Spitting up some breast milk after a feed is quite normal baby behaviour. However if your baby has reflux and is very fussy and miserable—see Reflux in Newborns for more information. Reflux is often connected to allergy, see #3 above.

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Spitting up is a normal event for babies and doesn’t usually cause them a problem although more severe forms are possible e.g. GERD [gastroesophageal reflux disease]. Certain underlying causes such as allergy, oversupply, lactose overload and poor tongue function can make reflux worse. Working with an IBCLC lactation consultant alongside your health professional can help find ways to reduce reflux or identify other possible reasons for an otherwise healthy breastfed baby to be miserable and fussy.

#6 Lactose overload

Lactose is the main sugar in breast milk. But if a baby gets too much of it too quickly or if anything prevents lactose being digested properly in the intestines it can cause a temporary lactose overload. An overload of lactose might cause colic like symptoms that can make a baby miserable such as wind, tummy ache and frothy copious green poop. It can be caused by and associated with cows’ milk allergy. For more information and how to resolve it see Lactose Intolerance in Babies.

#7 Sensory processing or high muscle tone

Some babies may have sensory processing issues, or high muscle tone that may contribute to fussy behaviour. Reading the linked articles may help to discover whether any of these could be an issue for your baby and what to do.

#8 Not enough physical contact

Sensory deprivation or lack of physical contact can cause a baby to fuss. Jack Newman describes this as the common fear of “spoiling” a baby and he calls it the English Nanny Approach;

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Babies cry for many reasons—it is the only way they have to communicate their needs. Many people believe that if you pick up or otherwise respond to a baby who cries, he will cry more and more; if you ignore his cries, he’ll stop. But research has shown just the opposite. The babies who are responded to most quickly and consistently cry less by the time they are a year old. Even more importantly, they tend to talk earlier and make more efforts to communicate, apparently because they have learned they will be listened to.

For those babies who crave physical contact, carrying them in a sling and accepting they need to be with you much of the time can help to meet their need for closeness. In a short time in the future they will not want to be held close or even hold your hand, enjoy it while you can! For some babies the opposite—over stimulation—can create unhappy behaviour.

#9 Other causes of fussy behaviour

Other ideas to explore to explain fussy behaviour could include minor dehydration (let your baby breastfeed frequently to quench his thirst), baby being too hot, too cold, being smoked over, wearing an overly tight nappy, having sore skin from an allergy, having sore gums from teething or thrush or being poorly e.g. having an ear infection 1. Some babies will be fussy if they have had a reaction to a recent vaccination. Parents can access patient information leaflets listing side effects for vaccines in the UK from the NHS Childhood Vaccines Timeline.

Summary

There are lots of reasons why a breastfed baby might sometimes seem unhappy or fussy such as being hungry, having allergies, sensory processing issues or lactose overload and more. Checking with your doctor will rule out a medical cause for your baby’s fussing and the best way to rule out any breastfeeding related reason is to contact a breastfeeding specialist to help you.

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